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VIVIDSeats HORIZON ACQUISITION CORPORATION Vivid Seats Releases First Quarter 2021 Update CHICAGO , May 28 , 2021 ( GLOBE NEWSWIRE ) -- Vivid Seats Inc. ( " Vivid Seats " or " the Company " ) , a leading marketplace that utilizes its powerful technology platform to connect millions of fans with thousands of ticket sellers across hundreds of thousands of events each year , today released a first quarter 2021 business and financial update . The Company's first quarter 2021 Marketplace Gross Order Value ( " GOV " ) was $ 116 million and Revenues were $ 24 million . These figures respectively represent a 71 % and 65 % year - over - year decline as Q1 2020 was not impacted by the COVID - 19 pandemic until mid - March . Vivid Seats returned to profitability on an EBITDA basis during the first quarter of 2021 with $ 4 million of Adjusted EBITDA . Stan Chia , CEO of Vivid Seats , commented , " Vivid Seats benefitted from the return of fans to the stands , particularly in sports , during the first quarter of 2021. Fans are craving the opportunity to see their favorite sports , concert and theater events and are jumping at the opportunity to book tickets as events resume . " " We are thrilled to see positive developments in Q1 with more fans able to attend events and continued positive news in April and May . " Mr. Chia added , " Our anticipated launch in the public markets coincides in lock step with this overall recovery . " As announced April 22 , 2021 , Vivid Seats entered into a definitive agreement with Horizon Acquisition Corporation ( " Horizon " ) , a publicly- traded special purpose acquisition company , Horizon Sponsor , LLC , and certain other parties hereto , that will result in Vivid Seats Inc. becoming a public company . A registration statement on Form S - 4 ( the " Registration Statement " ) , which includes a preliminary proxy statement / prospectus , has been filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission ( " SEC " ) by the Company . Investors may listen to a conference call regarding the first quarter 2021 business and financial update on Friday , May 28 , 2021 , at 8:00 am ET . The call can be accessed by visiting the Horizon Acquisition Corporation's website at https://www.horizonacquisitioncorp.com/ . Key Performance Indicators and Bridge from Net Income to Adjusted EBITDA Years Ended December 31 , Three Months Ended March 31 , 2019 Marketplace gross order value ( " Marketplace GOV " ) ( 1 ) $ 2,279,773 $ 2020 ( in thousands ) 347,259 $ 403,377 $ 2020 2021 Total Marketplace orders ( 2 ) Total Resale orders ( 3 ) Adjusted EBITDA ( 4 ) $ 7,185 303 119,172 $ 1,066 49 1,252 45 116,473 293 13 ( 80,204 ) $ 1,179 $ 4,187 ( 1 ) Marketplace GOV represents the total transactional amount of Marketplace segment orders placed on the Vivid Seats platform in a period , inclusive of fees , exclusive of taxes , and net of event cancellations that occurred during that period . Marketplace GOV was negatively impacted by event cancellations in the amount of $ 22.2 million during the year ended December 31 , 2019 and $ 216.0 million during the year ended December 31 , 2020. Marketplace GOV was negatively impacted by event cancellations in the amount of $ 52.8 million during the three months ended March 31 , 2020 and $ 18.5 million during the three months ended March 31 , 2021 . ( 2 ) Total Marketplace orders represents the volume of Marketplace segment orders placed on the Vivid Seats platform during a period , net of event cancellations occurring during the period . During the year ended December 31 , 2019 , the Marketplace segment had 54,961 event cancellations , compared to 549,085 event cancellations during the year ended December 31 , 2020. During the three months ended March 31 , 2020 , the Marketplace segment had 141,027 event cancellations , compared to 51,775 event cancellations during the three months ended March 31 , 2021. A Marketplace order may include more than one ticket . ( 3 ) Total Resale orders represents the volume of Resale segment orders sold by the Vivid Seats ' resale team in a period , net of event cancellations that occurred during that period . During the year ended December 31 , 2019 , the Resale segment had 1,517 event cancellations , compared to 20,644 event cancellations during the year ended December 31 , 2020. During the three months ended March 31 , 2020 , the Resale segment had 9,978 event cancellations , compared to 1,141 event cancellations during the three months ended March 31 , 2021. A Resale order may include more than one ticket . ( 4 ) Adjusted EBITDA is not a measure defined under GAAP . See below for further information about how Vivid Seats calculates adjusted EBITDA . Adjusted EBITDA is a non - GAAP measure frequently used by research analysts , investors and other interested parties to evaluate companies . Vivid Seats believes that this measure is helpful in highlighting trends in its operating results , because it excludes the impact of items that are outside the control of management or not reflective of its ongoing operations and performance . Adjusted EBITDA is a measure not defined under GAAP . It has limitations , because it excludes certain types of expenses and it does not reflect changes in working capital needs . Furthermore , other companies may calculate adjusted EBITDA or similarly titled measures